Old pros, led by Jordan, still top Sports QScores leaderboard

Three years after what we believe is his final
retirement, Michael Jordan continues to dominate Sports
QScores. The latest results are out and Jordan again leads a group dominated by
athletes that are no longer active with a positive QScore of 50. Tiger
Woods is again the top active athlete with a 40; the only
other active athlete in the top group is Brett Favre’s 35.
While a point difference is not considered statistically significant, Cal
Ripken Jr.’s handlers will certainly make hay of the fact that the
retired Oriole is a point better than Woods, who himself tied with Nolan
Ryan at 40. Magic Johnson and Mike
Krzyzewski were not included in last year’s study, since every
sports personality is not measured every year.
Johnson’s 36 ties him with Terry Bradshaw and puts
him just a point behind Joe Montana.

Jordan loves the links, but like most of the Top 10 he has retired from pro sports.

The survey is mailed
annually to 2,000 people identifying themselves as fans of at least one sport
from Marketing Evaluations/TvQ, the Manhasset, N.Y., research firm that
owns and operates the QScore franchise, on which hundreds of millions of
advertising decisions are predicated.

Some other highlights from
the latest Sports QScores: Jerome Bettis’ Super Bowl championship helped
pump up his score to 32 from 23, while Shaq, the top active NBA player, saw his
score increase to 33 from 27. Looking
at action sports athletes, Tony Hawk’s score dipped to a 23 from a 32,
while Shaun White, not measured last year, scored a 24.

2006 Sports QScore rankings

Rank

Player

Score

1)

Michael Jordan

50

2)

Cal Ripken Jr.

41

t3)

Nolan Ryan

40

t3)

Tiger Woods

40

5)

John Madden

39

6)

Jerry Rice

38

7)

Joe Montana

37

t8)

Magic Johnson

36

t8)

Terry Bradshaw

36

t10)

Brett Favre

35

t10)

Mike Krzyzewski

35

Source: QScore

“Olympians always get a
bounce in the Olympic year, so you may see those numbers reverse next year,”
said Steven Levitt, president of Marketing Evaluations/TvQ.

While QScores measure
“likability,” they also quantify consumers’ distaste for particular
personalities, or their negative QScores.

Bode Miller’s
positive QScore slipped to a 10 from an 18; but his negative went to a 53 from
a 26, “about as bad as it gets,” Levitt said. Kobe Bryant’s positive
QScore was 14 and his negative was 48 in 2005. This year, Bryant is somewhat
rehabilitated with a positive score of 18, and a negative of 44. What of Barry
Bonds, likely the most controversial athlete of 2006? He went from a 2005
positive score of 18 and negative score of 34 to a positive score of 16, and
negative 46, in the latest survey.

Wayne Gretzky, like
last year, received the top score for someone in the NHL with a 31. Serena Williams’ 26 and her sister Venus’
25 made them the top scoring tennis athletes in the survey. Dale Earnhardt
Jr. was the top NASCAR driver with a 29, just one behind retired driver Richard
Petty.

GOT A QUARTER? Both the New York Yankees and Mets are coining lots of promotional buzz
with dual programs involving imprinted U.S. quarters.

Both promos are sponsored by Dunkin’ Donuts. The Mets program
begins this Friday with an in-stadium
giveaway of 25,000 New York state quarters imprinted with the 20th anniversary
logo of the team’s 1986 World Series championship team. The program extends to
Dunkin’ Donuts retail with the offer of six additional quarters bearing
separate images of Gary Carter, Lenny Dykstra, Dwight Gooden, Sid Fernandez, Keith Hernandez and Mookie Wilson for $2.99
with any beverage purchase. Team-controlled radio and print ads support.

The Yankees will give away
quarters imprinted with Alex Rodriguez’s image to fans at an Aug. 12
game.

COMINGS &
GOINGS: If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then maybe Van
Wagner Sports should feel doubly flattered. Competitor ANC Sports
Enterprises, which is looking to emulate some of the sales and marketing
success of competitor Van Wagner (SBJ, June 5, 2006), has hired away two of its
employees. David Bialek joins as president of ANC Sports Marketing,
along with Bill Vaughn, who is now vice president of sales and marketing
… Veteran NFL marketer Kevin Carter is leaving to join the PGA of
America. Carter was director of sales and marketing at the NFL, and, over 14
years at the league, he worked in multiple departments. At PGA of America, in
Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., he will head the sales and marketing services
department.